A new world fly record for Jeremy Blocks, Peak Sportfishing in Exmouth, Australia with 212-pound black marlin on 16-pound tippet. This is one hell of a video. Congratulations to all, but will somebody in Western Australia please buy the mate in the red hat a beer on us?

Kona Tournaments—So the good news is, Kona fishing is back in business.

The inter-island quarantine is to be lifted on June 16, allowing local residents to move freely around the state. The Governor said this week that he will address the topic of lifting the inbound visitor quarantine – next week. At this time, all inbound travelers are still required to quarantine. We don’t know if this will be lifted by July 4th, or not.

As mentioned before, the State “plan” is to have a mitigation system in place with multiple layers, before re-opening to mainland travelers – pre-board proof of a recent Covid 19 test (negative) within a time frame TBD, thermal screening and contact tracing etc. etc. Getting all this in place is where the hold up lies.

A few anglers/boat owners have contacted me and offered to volunteer for a pilot project to test these mitigation measures – if they can fly in for the July 4th weekend to fish the Kona Kick Off and the World Cup. I have made that offer to the Governor’s office. I’d say it was a long shot, at best. But, ya never know!As far as procedures at the tournaments:

1) I strongly suggest you pay the base entries for tournaments – and – all of the optional categories you want, in advance by check. You can always make changes as we get closer, including pulling out and getting a refund.

2) We have installed and tested a password protected page where teams who have paid at lest the base entry, can watch the tournament spreadsheets populate – from the comfort of where ever they are.

3) Teams may make upward adjustments (additions) to their optional entries via phone and credit card, if they prefer to stay in the comfort of where ever they are.

3) Downward adjustments can also be made by phone, and if a refund is do, it will be refunded in the same manner payment was received – by card if paid by card and by check if paid by check or cash.

4) We want to limit cash as much as possible. The homeless situation in Kona has only become worse and many are hanging around the harbor. For your safety and ours, we highly recommend not carrying or paying in cash.

5) For those who must pay last minute, on-site, we are working on a new club house system but please note: NO PARTIES AND NO GATHERINGS OF PEOPLE MORE THAN STATED BY GOVERNOR PROCLAMATION IN PLACE AT THAT TIME.

6) Our plan is to have walk-up windows and tables set up at the Club House on the afternoon of the day before the first day of fishing. Only the person making a payment may approach the window or table. That “team representative” should have all the info needed for the various entry forms and documents, if they have not filed them in advance.

We do not know what the gathering rules will be by July 4th, but more than likely, we will not have tables and chairs out at the club house, as in the past. We anticipate a string of chairs, each six feet apart, under the awning in the shade, for those who need to conduct business in person.

7) Personal or business checks from US Mainland banks must be received by the Monday prior to the first day of fishing, in order to clear Hawaii banks.

8) We will continue to take very limited checks from current boat owners we have existing relationships with, on a case by case basis, inside of these limits. First Hawaiian Bank checks can also be taken inside these limits, as that is our bank and they will know if good.

9) Captains may call me directly to make arrangements to pick up tags, if needed. Some do, some don’t. If you don’t please don’t call or hoard. NOAA/NMFS was closed last I spoke with them, and getting more will be difficult I was told.

10) At least in July tourneys, tag and release video will be allowed from your phones now. We have had good luck with teams sending backup video from their phone to me directly, via Facebook messenger.

We are also working with Capt. Joe Crawford on using his app “Capt.App” which has a secure video feature. More on this soon. http://captapp.com/home

We prefer to use a secure system, but we are still in conversations with Joe on how to make this happen

At this point, the July tourneys look to be “local only” while we plan to be back in regular action for the “biggies” in August.

We will take what we learn in July and make decisions for August on how to best secure what are usually large sums of money via tag and release video.

11) We will not be opening the usual office in Gentry’s and plan to operate remotely, except when we plan to be at the Club House – the day prior to the first day of fishing, of each individual tournament. The people we rented from have closed up shop, and moved out. We were subleasing because neither Gentry’s nor the Fuel Dock has ever been receptive to a seasonal rental.

All this points to even more reasons to enter in advance, pay by check, stay home or on the boat and watch the spreadsheet in comfort!

I think that is about it for now. Things remain pretty fluid, so we may tweak this “plan” as we move on down the timeline. A caveat we learned from all these talks with the State!

The ability to keep several large live baits swimming is a must for anyone serious about live bait fishing for marlin, big tunas, and a host of other species that require baits that will not survive in a typical live well. Tuna tubes are the most effective way to accomplish this feat. There are a wide variety of options for tuna tube installation and plumbing on center consoles.

From glassed-in, permanent installs that cost in the tens of thousands of dollars to homemade PVC tubes sourced from the local home improvement store, the options are endless. No matter which setup you choose, ensuring the tubes work properly and keep the baits alive is the most important aspect of it all. The correct installation and plumbing of your tuna tubes is paramount for having a live bait system that works as intended.

According to Steve Katz with Steve’s Marine Service Inc., tuna tube water flow should be straight, non-turbulent, and spread across the entire fish’s face. The tuna opens his mouth when he wants to breathe, and the water flow shouldn’t power wash him in the face with unnecessary force. The unique issue with high-performance center consoles, especially stepped hull vessels, is finding the correct place to install the pick-up to draw enough water needed to supply the tubes while underway at high speeds.

Katz has installed a myriad of tuna tubes on everything from large sportfish vessels to high-performance center consoles. He states that finding a location for a high-speed pickup on a stepped hull vessel can be the most difficult part of the process. If the pick-up is not in a location where it can draw constant water at high speeds, the entire system could fail to supply enough clean water to keep the baits alive while underway.

Water Supply Options

From the through-hull pick-up, there are a couple of different options to push the water into the lines that will supply the tubes. Sea chests and pump boxes are the two most effective ways to deliver the water to the tubes, though some captains have had success running the pick-up straight to an inline pump to supply the tubes directly. A simple two tuna tube system would likely be fine running on a single inline pump, but the chance for turbulent water to enter the system or for the pump to get airlocked is much greater than running from a sea chest or pump box.

A sea chest is a sealed box that is connected to the thru-hull and vented above the water line. It is typically designed with multiple outputs that can be connected to pumps to supply tuna tubes, live wells, and even raw water washdowns. The chest ensures that all the pumps have a supply of clean non-turbulent water to satisfy the needs of the system.

A pump box is similar in design but contains the pumps inside the box and submerged in water. The box is typically rigged with the however many 1500/2000 GPH bilge pumps it takes to get the job done. Since the pumps are contained inside of the box, a pump box can save significant room on a center console install where bilge space is at a premium.

Water Delivery

Delivering the water from the pumps to the tubes should be straight forward and direct. Avoid 90-degree joints, as these contribute to loss of flow and increase the amount of turbulence and bubbles in the water supply. Katz emphasized the need for flow control devices to moderate the amount of water supplied to the bait. Valves, variable speed pumps, and multiple pumps are all potential solutions to control the flow and keep a variety of baits alive.

Keep in mind that different bait species have varying water flow requirements. Your tuna tube system should have variable flow options to optimize the ability to keep different species and sizes of baits alive. Katz recommends a manifold system so that outgoing seawater can be routed to the necessary live well or tuna tube or combined when additional flow is needed.

It is also worth noting that the shape of the actual tuna tube can affect the longevity of your baits. While a circular tube can keep baits alive, the baits may tend to spin while immersed in a round tube with a high volume of water flow hitting them. Many tuna tube systems now use oval shaped tubes to prevent the bait from spinning, creating a system that can keep baits alive and frisky for extended periods of time.

Ultimately, there is no one size fits all solution for tuna tube systems. Every boat will have unique rigging problems to solve with various solutions to solve them. At the end of the day, the goal is keeping those baits alive and at the ready, and every tuna tube system should be able to accomplish that mission when properly rigged.

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

Some guys really are larger than life and Captain Bouncer Smith is one of those guys. It takes a full page of small print on his website to list the honors and awards that Bouncer has achieved. He has pioneered several fisheries, caught innumerable trophies for his clients and been one of the most outspoken captains in protecting our fisheries for all of our futures.

The essence of the man, however, is deeper than awards and honors. Bouncer is a man who, after more than 50 years of charter fishing, still gets butterflies watching a sailfish light up on the strike or watching a bottom rig get yanked down to the gunwale. Bouncer gets excited in just the same way he did when he first started. It is that thrill, that excitement that makes him so good day in and out, for swords or sails or jacks or anything else that patrols the waters around Miami.

Based out of Miami Beach, Florida, Captain Bouncer Smith and his 33-foot Bouncer’s Dusky are a bucket list fishing trip for folks from around the world. An interesting man in many contexts – Bouncer catches quality fish of many species (from swordfish to tarpon to sailfish and snapper). Smith is generous with his time, perspective and skill.

Smith with longtime mate and friend, Abie Raymond.

How He Began

As a young kid growing up in Michigan, Bouncer’s Dad was the perfect example. They fished together, and they hunted together. The young Bouncer saw and enjoyed it all. They fished for sunnies, for bass, for trout. They hunted rabbits, squirrels and deer. In 1956, they relocated not just to Florida, but to a new world. They trolled old style feathers, catching barracuda and bonito.

Then, at the age of 8, lightning struck. Young Bouncer hooked and caught his first sailfish – on a lure he had made himself. He was hooked. It was at this point that life began to have a center – on fishing. After stints running private boats, working as a mate out of various fishing ports, he began his charter career hawking passersby at the Castaways dock at Bahia Mar. While this start is not uncommon for many a Florida captain, most rarely rise so far above it. From Bahia Mar his road led to the dream – “Flats Guide in Islamorada.”

For a while this was Bouncer’s program. He docked at Bud n’ Mary’s for the winter while spending summers in Ocean City, Maryland. It was a good life, but still not his own life.

Influences

While learning the ropes early on, one captain at the Castaways Dock, Connie Mira, seemed to have more charters than most. Not only did she enjoy more clients, she was also getting more write ups than other captains. After a while, Bouncer asked her about her secret. Her answer? “Easy,” she says. “When the local outdoor writer calls to book a chair ($15 per chair then!), the other guys tell him the price. But I tell him, ‘He will be my guest for the afternoon.’”

Bouncer learned a major lesson here – take care of the folks who affect you, your visibility and your future business. In the years since, this has become charter boat marketing 101. During the final week of 1979, an out of state client hired Bouncer to captain his small private rig for two weeks. On the first trip aboard the client’s 25-foot Dusky, they fished six-foot seas. The client asked, “How do you like the boat?” Bouncer told him, “I’d like first right of refusal when you decide to sell!” Well, two years later, they made a winwin deal and Bouncer had his charter boat!

He had found his calling. Not only did Bouncer have the setting for his own operation, he had learned lessons that would help him in route to becoming one of the most successful and well-respected captains in the business. Treat your clients as friends. Go out of your way to work with influencers. Enjoy and appreciate what you do.

A few years later Bouncer met with the owner of Dusky. Smith helped design a larger boat and made a lifelong friendship and commitment to the Dusky platform. The result of this partnership is very much in evidence today.

A young Captain Bouncer (top right) pictured with a big sail and a brute of a tiger shark.

Smiles Along the Way

Given the nature of the business and the daily personal interaction, every captain has great stories. Bouncer is no exception. A fairly typical convention group of six arrived for an afternoon charter. One of the group members had clearly had a multiple martini lunch and loudly made it known that he was only interested in big fish. Not only this, he announced his need to catch Moby Dick. As others caught a few bailer dolphin, he complained and continued his slurred need to catch Moby.

Well, as luck would have it, a very large whale, likely a humpback, surfaced and blew just ahead of the boat. Then, the whale surfaced again just yards behind the boat. Upon seeing this, the drunk got down on his knees apologizing to Moby saying, “I didn’t mean to offend you! Please do not sink the boat!” Karma can be tough.

This whale of a fishing story might only be topped by the autistic teenager and his father who requested to catch a swordfish, a grouper, a tuna and a tarpon – all in one trip! And Bouncer did. After ticking off this diverse list of quarry, they asked if they might catch a snook. Bouncer put them on one of those, too. In Bouncer’s mind, that trip will always be one of the best ever. To this day, the clients have no idea of what their captain accomplished.

“They figured it was just like ordering from the menu!” Bouncer recalls with a chuckle.

Proudest Moments

Every captain has a few wonderful moments that truly stand out, that pass the test of time. For Bouncer there are two – his proudest catch and that of a client. Bouncer’s catch occurred after a solid week of fishing Alaska, when he caught the then-world record halibut on a fly.

Bouncer hooked the 115-pounder in the last fifteen minutes of the trip! And for a client catch? Well, how about the first ever fly-caught swordfish – caught on his client’s hand-tied fly! Bouncer put his client on the 46-inch sword within one hour of casting! Afterward others spent as many as 30 nights in a row hoping to hook a sword on a fly. Credit surely goes to the client for the catch, but much more goes to the captain who put him in the position to do so.

Hopes for the Future

As is the case with every good captain (and hopefully every serious angler), Bouncer realizes that the future of fishing will be what we make of it. Smith is in the forefront of species management and protection. An avid sportsman, he favors laws and catch limits and even supports the idea of marine area preserves to assure that certain species be allowed to grow and reach maturity without the certainty of capture and harvest. He is a voice for the future and for the health of our sport.

Smith donates time, energy and funds to support the ocean and sport that he loves. And still, today, Bouncer offers free trips for Make a Wish kids and youth who just need a few hours away from their pain. Kids
like Charlie who he friended at a fishing show that took place recently after the young man finished radiation treatment… A couple of hours catching small bluefish in the bay made this child’s world just a bit better.

A Legend on the Dock

The essence of a captain is complex. Successfully manning the captain’s chair requires a mix of fishing skill combined with a bit of understanding of psychiatry, friendship, toughness, love for the job and caring. Bouncer Smith, both the captain and the man, represents the best of these. To get an idea of his fishing honors and awards (or to book a trip to fish with him), check out Bouncer’s website at www.Captbouncer.com. You will not be disappointed, rather, you will be very impressed indeed. In fact, you’re likely as not to enjoy the conversation as much as you do the fishing.

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

You’ve heard them. You must have… After all, there are just so many… “How do you wind up with a little money in the fishing business? Start with a lot…” “BOAT – bust out another thousand.” “If you have to ask how much it costs, you probably can’t afford it.”

The ability of boats to eat money is legendary. It has spawned jokes, t-shirts, and bumper stickers of all kind. Rather than being simply fairy tales made up out of thin air, these sayings reflect a level of truth – boats can certainly be expensive.

There are, however, a select group of individuals who are able to consistently use their boats to generate income. The following is a look at several strategies used successfully by boat owners to make money with their boats.

With apologies to the owner/operator of the charter program, this view looks into a few less commonly practiced scenarios for boat-driven money-making.

Placing your boat in a popular tourist destination is a great first stepfor chartering your vessel.

Boat Economics 101 and the Case for Boat Management

One popular avenue to generate revenue with a boat is to leave the boat at a popular charter destination and enter into a yacht management agreement.

Under this scenario, the boat owner hires a third-party company to take care of the boat and book charters on it. The revenue made by chartering the boat can offset the cost of boat ownership, while allowing owners to fish aboard while they are in town. There are some definite advantages to this approach.

Before you can wrap your mind around how to use your boat to generate income, it helps to understand the expenses associated with keeping and operating a vessel. As owner of Maverick Yachts and a principal of Maverick Costa Rica, Larry Drivon understands the economic variables associated with boat ownership from three separate perspectives.

He is a boat owner, he owns a boat building operation and is involved in yacht management, as well.

“There are three operating expense categories. The first are fixed costs. You incur these even if you never leave the dock. These include insurance, crew, dockage, painting, etc. Next, there are daily costs that arise when you use the boat. These include fuel, ice, bait, food, drinks and everything related to running the boat.

Finally, there are hourly costs,” Drivon relates. For the hourly cost category, Maverick Costa Rica uses two inputs – hours between oil changes and an engine reserve. For a 36-foot Maverick walk around, the oil change figure comes out to $2.00 per hour. The engine reserve, which factors the average hourly cost between engine rebuilds, is $8.75. Therefore, the factored cost is $10.75 for every hour that the boat runs.

“People consistently forget reserves for maintenance,” Drivon says. Neglecting to include this into the balance sheet can artificially inflate the profit margin – until you get hit with an astronomical repair bill that eats all the money you thought you made by chartering the boat. From Maverick’s perspective, the maintenance reserves are a line item in the fixed expense category.

“The charter deal is not as simple as people think it might be,” Drivon continues. “First you need to determine whether you are trying to make money or trying to offset expenses. Before you decide on either perspective, you need to know what it’s going to cost. That’s the first thing.”

“Most people who own a charter boat don’t plan on being the hands-on manager. That leaves two options. You can work with a management company or can opt for captain and crew management,” Drivon says.

“At Maverick we charge $650 per month to manage the boat. That’s turn key. It includes all of the work with municipalities, taxes and fees, and proper licenses. Owners get a monthly profit and loss statement and a quarterly balance sheet. Management consists of a booking staff (for charters) and a representative on the dock every morning to make sure to get people on the right boats and to distribute food, etc. We also have a guy on the dock when the boat gets back in the afternoon.”

Once you understand what is included in a management agreement and get a handle on the costs of boat ownership, it is time to determine how much a boat needs to work in order to break even. To do this, you simply compute your fixed costs (slip, insurance, crew salary, management fee, fishing tackle expense, and maintenance reserves). Next, determine an average daily expense rate per day of boat use. Then, assign an average number of engine hours per day of charter fishing (generally 10 hours) and multiply it by the hourly expense rate.

This will give you the daily input for your hourly expense category. Finally, assign the rate that you charge clients for a day of charter fishing – this figure is money coming in (everything else measures money going out). Once you have the annual fixed cost number, inputs for the average daily cost and average hourly cost and the charter rate, you can begin multiplying everything by number of days chartered.

For simplicity’s sake, you can see what it would look like if you chartered 75 days, 100 days, 125 days and 150 days. Up until your breakeven point, the profit brought in by charter fishing is outweighed by the fixed costs of boat ownership.

At some point on the curve, there is a breakeven – at which time the money you bring in by chartering your boat equals the expenses you shell out paying for all the expenses. From that point on, each day chartered generates income. Once you’ve got a handle on all of the numbers, think about your objective – making money or offsetting costs.

The breakeven point for the Maverick 36, using the company’s management pro forma, is 112 days chartered per year. In 2017, the fleet managed by Maverick Costa Rica chartered an average of 180 trips – the low vessel was 177, the high was 183. Getting a grasp on the costs associated and revenue at different levels of charter activity are central to determining whether yacht management is the right course for you.

This photo shows the bottom of the Waste Knot, the vessel that sank on “Wicked Tuna.” These thru hulls were not part of the boat’s original design.

Using Your Boat to Exploit Economic Opportunity

Based in Surfside, Texas, Captain Anthony Lopez is experienced in many types of sportfishing operation. His next venture is one that is conceptualized to leverage the multiple layers of economic opportunity in the Gulf of Mexico. Lopez is currently building a 46-foot Mussel Ridge out of Maine. The Down East style boat has a large open deck and forward cabin. It is endowed with a 17-feet beams and the ability to cruise in the low 20s.

Lopez’ vision in bringing this beast from the Down East to Texas involves a hybrid model comprised of commercial and charter fishing activities. In many ways, Captain Johnny Walker and his 57-foot Blackwell, the Kitana, has blazed the trail for this type of endeavor. “It’s a hybrid model that incorporates a little bit of several things that the boat can do – charters, corporate type meetings and three to five-day long-range trips in the Gulf,” Lopez relates.

“Then there is the commercial fishing aspect. Ultimately, we’d like to be able to sell sustainably caught fish directly to restaurants. There is a diversity of opportunity in the Gulf – bottom fishing, reef fish, deepwater pelagics – the boat has a greenstick, day and night time swordfishing. We believe the hybrid model includes all the ingredients for a long term, successful family business.”

“A lot of the traditional commercial boats are older and can only do five to ten knots – they can only slow boat out. This is a converted lobster boat that can cruise at 20 knots, enabling us to take advantage of shorter weather windows,” Lopez describes. This is a serious advantage when fishing the spring, fall and winter months in the Gulf. “The boat will be a work horse that folds 1,000
gallons of diesel. With a range of 800-miles and a Seakeeper to provide comfort for charters and safety when commercial fishing, it is a great foundation.”

When it comes to making money, Captain Anthony plans for a diversified approach that is flexible enough to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. “We anticipate the revenue breakdown will likely be in the rage of 70/30 or 60/40 commercial to charter,” he says. “The boat will tournament fish, too – either chartered or privately funded entries. Texas and Louisiana tournaments, mainly.”

Down East boats, like this Mussel Ridge, provide large, stable platforms with ample beam and deck space.

Selling Your Build Slot

There are some people wh o are able to make money on boats without ever splashing them. These days many builders are waitlisted for months or years. With more people looking for boats than boats available, those who are in the build process can turn their slot into cash. This scenario occurs most predictably when the demand for boats exceeds the supply and when people are spending money. It is as much a function of the economy as it is the quality and relative scarcity of high end sportfishers available.

Ritchie Howell has been building custom boats in North Carolina for a long time. He has seen a number of these scenarios first hand. “When things were booming, I had four boats going at once. I had a guy sell a slot for $50,000 just to jump back two slots,” Howell describes. “Another time we had just finished a boat and I begged the owner to put it in the boat show because I needed
something to show.

A guy from Texas came up to him and said he wanted to buy it. He said, ‘It’s in the boat show, it must be for sale. What will it take?’ He wrote a number on a piece of paper and gave it to the owner. It was a big number… and the guy was ready right there with a check. The owner got so mad, he got on a plane and left the boat show that afternoon.”

“Most guys that go through the build process could make out pretty good, but they’ve waited so long they don’t want to part with it. You can’t mass produce custom boats,” Howell says. There is another perhaps more popularly utilized method of turning boats into cash.

The Gulf of Mexico is home to a number of valuable commercial fishing targets.

Rehabbing and Flipping

While the term flipping the hull is generally used to describe the step in the build process when the boat first emerges from the shed, there are those who consistently turn a buck (and have a good time) rehabbing boats and flipping them. “When I was charter fishing, I used to buy boats that had been run into the ground. I’d fix them up and turn around and sell them,” Howell says. “There is pretty good money in refurbing something if you do it right.”

Howell’s latest refit project is a major one. He purchased the hull of the Waste Knot, the Buddy Cannady-built boat that famously sank on the show “Wicked Tuna.” When the vessel hit something at speed, the collision knocked the rudders through the hull and it sank 11-miles offshore of Oregon Inlet. Howell purchased the hull after the boat washed up on the beach. Howell has the boat
at his shop and puts workers on it as he has time. While he has had offers to purchase the boat, once it is ready to go it will be a charter boat for his son.

While there are many tips and things to consider when actually fixing the boat, what should you look for in a prospective sportfish flipper?

“I always looked for boats that perform well any way. Building styles change over time, so a lot of times there are ways to tighten up a boat. I’d look for boats that shove easy and are dry but may have been built with old techniques. I’d do things like put in stiff knees and cut out old frames and just stiffen the boat up,” Howell describes.

“BC (Buddy Cannady) used to build a boat and then charter fish with it in the
summer and commercial fish with it in the winter. He’d then sell the boat in the spring,” Ritchie continues. “I’d do something similar. I’d buy an old boat and charter fish it. I’d fix it up over the winter and sell it. When I was doing it, I was about a boat every two years.”

In addition to his background in boat building, Howell’s position within the North Carolina charter fishing community helped with these projects. “Most of the time, I’d know the history of the boat. What it could do and how it could perform,” he says. “I’d look at some boats and they would have been too big of projects. You’ve really got to have a good foundation to work from.”

“With the Waste Knot, I knew its history and its performance, but also its weaknesses,” he says. “I’ve cut out seen busted frames, took out old knees and glassed things back into place.” The boat is progressing nicely. “I’ve actually had quite a few offers to buy it. If it were for anyone else but my son, I’d have sold it,” Howell says with a laugh. Curious to see how refitting an older, worn-out boat can revitalize a sportfisher?

Check out Captain William Howell, who will be fishing the boat formerly known as Waste Knot out of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center.

Conclusion

Have you ever wondered why so many sportfishing boats are named after owners’ wives? Perhaps this is another reflection of how expensive boats can be. “She can’t divorce me for buying the boat… Afterall, I
named it after her!” All jokes, sayings and bumper stickers aside, boats can certainly cost quite a bit of money, but they can also be used to offset the cost of ownership or even make a bit of money.

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

About: The most complete 60ft sportfish on the market! This particular 60, 60C218 was built specifically under the direction of a veteran owner’s understanding of exactly what the full requirements are in sportfishing and sport cruising. From the custom helm and cockpit to the 3 stateroom/3 head layout, the attention to extended cruising and fishing details were on the mark. Maintained impeccably by a veteran full-time captain, this 60 is still unmatched in its construction and constant first class condition.

Vessel Walkthrough

Featuring a blend of masculine battlewagon with warmth and style. Upon entering the spacious salon and galley, the deep rich high gloss cherry walls, the solid granite surfaces and subtle sofa and dinette just speaks volumes. Supported with 3 staterooms below, it’s ideal for owners and friends to experience the best in its class… even while cruising at 32+ knots!

The galley features three under-counter Sub-Zero refrigerator/freezer units. A four-burner ceramic cook top and microwave/convection oven provide plenty of food preparation options, while deep storage drawers in the galley’s fascia offer an abundance of space. Amtico teak and holly strip flooring with custom layout and solid-surface countertops and backsplashes give the galley an elegant look with long-lasting durability. To starboard, a large dinette features an L-shaped lounge with storage underneath. The dining table features a solid-surface top with decorative pedestal.

Master Stateroom and Head

Forward of the salon through the spacious wide companion way and to the port. The master stateroom continues with the winning blend. Warm, spacious and functional with ample storage and a full berth with ensuite full head. The large master head has private access to the stateroom. Blended with cherry trim upgraded wall coverings and full bowed face vanity with storage above and below with custom granite surface.

2020 started as an exciting year for Stanley Gillies. At 15, he was set to spend the spring working for his grandfather, Talbot Brogden, on the Spanish island of La Gomera. Talbot owns the East Atlantic Crew (EAC), a fleet of boats based in the Canary Islands. Brogden’s boats fish the waters up the west coast of Africa from Cape Verde to the Azores.

Although the crew has been fishing these waters for many years, the EAC has been together for three. The seasons in the east Atlantic generally run March and April for bluefin tuna and mid-May – October for blue marlin. The EAC’s best season in charter boat saw 96 bluefin tuna boat side. In the Canary Islands, the bluefin fishing is all catch and release for recreational boats. The bigeye and yellowfin, however, are fair game for harvest.

Photo courtesy Katie Coeckelenbergh-Sawyer

An avid fisherman since the age of 5, Stanley was more eager than ever to make the trip to La Gomera. After a childhood of running the docks and riding along with his grandfather, Gillies was amped to get the opportunity to learn hands-on from one of the industry’s finest eastern Atlantic crews.

In his younger years, Stanley had released a white marlin and about a million skipjacks. Last year he tallied a nice blue marlin, but he had yet to tangle with a large tuna. This was to be Stanley’s year—the year the team was hoping to put him on one of La Gomera’s famed bluefin. He was to feel the pull of nothing but muscle below the boat.

Photo courtesy Talbot Brogden

Then in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, just before the start of the season, the Spanish government put all of Spain’s territories into a strict lockdown; preventing any non-essential travelers from leaving their homes, much less going fishing. What followed was a difficult 63 days. As soon as the Spanish no-fishing laws were lifted on the 18th of May, the Freespool with the EAC was the first out of the marina and on the water.

The next day, they were bringing in a (pending) junior world record bigeye tuna.

Photo courtesy Katie Coeckelenbergh-Sawyer

A day of fishing off of La Gomera, like many places, can be fairly dependent on the presence of bait. Halfway into May the crew would normally start out fishing for marlin. Rumors of big schools of tuna still running the coast, however, led the crew to believe they could still target Stanley his first tuna. Like anywhere, the search for bait off the island can take anywhere from minutes to hours. Sometimes it’s a flop altogether.

Photo courtesy Talbot Brogden

This was the case on the morning of May 18th. After an hour and a half of looking for bait, the crew opted to pull marlin teasers in hopes of raising a fish. It wasn’t until Captain Jason Pipe spotted a few tuna feeding on the surface of the leeward side of the island that they put a hook into the water.

Pipe and company deployed a bullet lure on the shotgun. This turned out to be a good decision. Within a few minutes line was screaming off the shotgun.

“No one on the boat saw the bite, but we all heard it,” explained Talbot, “We knew it was a big fish from the sound of the line leaving the reel!”

Stanley was ready for this fish. In fact, he had been dreaming of this moment for years. Finally, a big tuna was on the end of the line and he was going to bring it to the boat. Starting the fight on standup with the Shimano Tiagra 80 set at 40 pounds of drag, it didn’t take long for him to decide this fish was big enough for the chair.

Stanley set himself up in the chair. From there, the fight was a game of give and take. Just over 40 minutes after hook up the wire man and mate Danny Wingrove got his gloves on the leader. Talbot (equal parts proud grandfather and gaff man) stuck the fish.

Photo courtesy Katie Coeckelenbergh-Sawyer

The process was smooth, an experienced crew bringing in another big fish. From the moment the fish was out of the water, everyone on board knew that there was a potential world record on deck. The atmosphere changed instantly from excitement to electric and the team headed in with anticipation for an official weight.

Stanley’s pending World Record Bigeye weighed in at 325 pounds (147.7 kg). The monstrous tuna had a fork length of 185 cm. It shattered the previous record of 234 pounds 12 ounces (106.5 kg).

This fish adds to an impressive list of accomplishments for the EAC. It is another World Record for Captain Jason Pipe (who has had several World and European records in Marlin, Tuna and Spearfish categories) along with the incredible accomplishment of a Royal Slam for Talbot Brogden.

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

Bluewater’s new Curved 8 Rod Rocket Launcher is available in both teak and fiberglass. This model is very popular in mid-sized boats and outboards. These days fishing is all about having “your guns loaded”—this product was designed with that in mind. The Curved 8 accommodates eight rod positions.

This configuration is ideal for kite fishing, as everything is centrally located. When running from spot to spot or out to the grounds, the kite reels can be set in the back two holders that are installed at a 90° angle.

Photo courtesy Bluewater Chairs

There is a tray area finished in clear non-skid on the teak model and a smooth finish on the fiberglass model. A drawer under the tray with inside dimensions of 10 ½” by 6 ½” allows for storage of the typical cockpit necessities. All of this is offered in a compact size with overall dimensions of 43” wide and 19” deep. Standard is a straight pedestal but custom offset pedestals can be made to allow for deck hatches, bilge access and baitwell installations. For more, visit www.BlueWaterChairs.com.

Photo courtesy Garmin

Garmin® and Fusion® Unveil Signature Series 3 Marine Speakers And Subwoofers With Industry-First Five-Color LED Lighting

Garmin redesigned its Fusion-branded Signature Series marine speakers and subwoofers with innovative LED lighting that delivers an unprecedented spectrum of color variations. The new Fusion Signature Series 3 combines traditional red, green and blue LEDs with cool and warm white (CRGBW) to offer a full color palette. The Signature Series 3 also introduces an all-new 12-inch subwoofer that provides 1600 watts of peak power.

Available in 6.5-, 7.7- and 8.8-inch speaker sizes and 12- or 10-inch subwoofer sizes, the Signature Series 3 is offered with a Sports White or Sports Chrome grill finish. They also feature a ‘CURV’ cone composite technology that provides greater sound definition and higher output. The Signature Series speakers and 10-inch subwoofer are also available with a Classic White finish without the CRGBW illumination.

Engineered to the True-Marine standard, the entire Signature Series 3 line of speakers and subwoofers have passed stringent pressure and water-tightness tests, and are designed to deliver crisp sound and quality entertainment season after season. For more information on the Signature Series 3, or the full range of Fusion audio and entertainment products, visit fusionentertainment.com.

Photo courtesy Release Marine

Swing Out Launcher: Release Marine’s Center Console Solution

With deck space at a premium on center consoles, Release Marine recognized the need for a creative, new take on the rocket launcher. The result of this realization, the Swing Out Launcher, is as intuitive as it is functional. Composed of polished stainless steel, the Swing Out Launcher’s hardware swivels to allow tables or rocket launchers to be mounted at multiple locations without changing bases.

This eliminates the need for a hard-mounted stanchion. The built-in adaptability provides boat owners with increased flexibility in how they use their space—when fishing or otherwise. It was this commitment to innovation that created Release Marine’s motto— “Always Lead, Never Follow.” For more, visit www.releasemarine.com.

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

Just a young pup at 29, Capt. Ryan Knapp has packed a lot of experience into his short career. Knapp’s grandfather and uncle had offshore boats while he was growing up and he says that, “I was always the one who wanted to go do it! My grandfather really encouraged me, and I was pretty much attached to him at the ankle. I grew up on the western shore of Maryland so we fished a of Chesapeake Bay and Ocean City stuff.”

Like a lot of aspiring mates, Knapp got his first paying job as mate on Joe Riley’s famous headboat, Muff Diver. “It was a big pink headboat and you couldn’t miss it. It’s not an easy job working on a headboat, but you could make it work if you are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the people happy. You really have to love doing it to be successful. When Riley finally retired at the age of 70, he said to me, Ryan, you are my last protégé, do me proud. I still think about that a lot and try to live up to his expectations.”

Knapp earned his AIRMAR East Coast Captain of the Year designation with two impressive first-place wins in the Big Rock and Hatteras Village open, so you could say that North Carolina has been very good to Knapp and his team. “I definitely got zoned in on where the fish were going to be in North Carolina this year. By the time I left the state, we were 12 for 12 on blue marlin bites and found every one of those fish in 80.5 F water. I got tuned into a few things, but I really just paid attention and did my job,” says Knapp.

Success, however, didn’t come quick or easy for his team. “I’ve fished The Big Rock for six years…and before last year, we’ve had just one bite in six years. It wasn’t that we weren’t in the zone, we just didn’t get the opportunities. You really are hunting unicorns out there sometimes.” “Five years into it and we still hadn’t caught one. At the end of the tournament my boss walks up and thanks us for all our hard work and tells us what a great tournament it’s been. Now that’s the guy you want to work for…a guy who will do what it takes to succeed.”

That perseverance paid off in spades this past year. “The Hatteras Village Open was awesome for us. The last day of fishing we saw five blues, caught three and killed one. We saw all the fish just 27 miles from the slip. It was truly an amazing day. All of the fish were 400-plus pounds and it was just amazing to see that many blue marlin in one day so close to home. It seemed like we would catch one, head up sea for a bit, turn around, catch another one, head up sea and do it again,” says Knapp.

Knapp’s first mate, Phillip “Moonpie” Williams is only a few years older than he is, but the team has been working together for the same set of owners on the same boat for the last four and half years.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have worked together all this time…it makes for a good atmosphere and we are a very family-oriented team,” says Knapp. “The boat is owned by two brothers, Todd and Kyle Dickerson, and since one of them was a police officer, most of our fishing guests consist of fire fighters and police officers. We have a small group of about ten guys that rotate through, so that’s a good thing as well. It keeps things fairly consistent.” Knapp says that keeping an upbeat attitude is important for any boat’s success, whether fishing in a tournament or just for fun. “I never want to come home from a day’s fishing and have someone onboard that’s mad or upset about something; that’s the exact opposite of what a day’s fishing is supposed to bring.”

“I would like to thank everyone along the way who made me into what I am today. It’s very gratifying to win this award at such a young age. It’s really what you do all this for…you want to try to be the best and the one to beat,” says Knapp. “When I get to be an old man, I want the guys to head out the grounds and find me already sitting there when they pull up. Then I want them to say, ‘Shit! We aren’t going to catch anything today… Ryan’s going to catch them all!’ Bull Tolsen was that guy for me.”

Past Winners

2014 Capt. Mike King, 1100 Pts.

2015 Capt. Gary Richardson, 2250 Pts.

2016 Capt. Harvey Shiflet, 1000 Pts.

2017 Capt. Chucky Moore, 1050 Pts.

2018 Capt. Alan Neiford, 1750 Pts.

2019 Capt. Ryan Knapp, 1000 Pts.

The InTheBite Captain of the Year Cup, presented by Hatteras, is the championship of sportfishing. The Cup is the world’s only quantifiable way to recognize the tournament success of professional sportfishermen. Comprised of 90-sanctioned events that span the world, there is nothing else like it. Winning an InTheBite Captain of the Year Award is a major achievement. From the winners to the Cup’s origin, it is an interesting tale. Read more…

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

News

A new world fly record for Jeremy Blocks, Peak Sportfishing in Exmouth, Australia with 212-pound black marlin on 16-pound tippet. This is one hell of a video. Congratulations to all, but will somebody in Western Australia please buy the mate in the red hat a beer on us? https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2688004054814982 [Read More...]

Kona Tournaments—So the good news is, Kona fishing is back in business. The inter-island quarantine is to be lifted on June 16, allowing local residents to move freely around the state. The Governor said this week that he will address the topic of lifting the inbound visitor quarantine – next week. At this time, all inbound travelers are still required to... [Read More...]

By Capt. Adam Peeples The ability to keep several large live baits swimming is a must for anyone serious about live bait fishing for marlin, big tunas, and a host of other species that require baits that will not survive in a typical live well. Tuna tubes are the most effective way to accomplish this feat. There are a wide... [Read More...]

By Capt. Jeff Waxman Some guys really are larger than life and Captain Bouncer Smith is one of those guys. It takes a full page of small print on his website to list the honors and awards that Bouncer has achieved. He has pioneered several fisheries, caught innumerable trophies for his clients and been one of the most outspoken captains... [Read More...]

Captain of the Year Cup Standings Presented by Hatteras

View the current standings for InTheBite's Captain of the Year Cup... Leaderboard »